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Fans of anime, music and all kinds of media flocked to the St. John’s Convention Centre this weekend for the annual three-day Avalon Expo.
The event is typically held just a few kilometres away at the Sheraton Hotel, but opted for a bigger venue this year— touting “40,000 square feet of geek” on its website. But that move came with increased ticket prices, which organizers apologized for in a social media post earlier this month.
“Costs for everything have been going up,” the post said. “It was necessary and unavoidable at this time.”
Convention-goers decked out in costumes and merchandise from their favourite artists told CBC News they were particularly conscious of their spending at the event’s popular market this year.
Like many of the young folks socializing at the fandom-filled event, 15-year-old Kiersten Lester’s parents gave her some money to spend. She said she’s more mindful and selective because of that.
When asked about the cost to be at a convention like this, Lester said “it’s really bad.”
“It’s really hard to rely on my parents when they’re struggling themselves,” she said.
Alix Guest is just one of the young people who say they’ve witnessed their interests become more expensive. (Leila Beaudoin/CBC)
Dressed in a Garfield suit, recent high school graduate Alix Guest said he easily spent more than $100 on products from vendors, on top of the weekend pass.
“I have no money left,” Guest said.
Although he’s noticed an increasing cost of the niche products on offer at Comic-Con-like events in recent years, Guest said he understands that vendors are feeling the crunch as much as their customers are.
If a particular Funko Pop figurine is on your wish list, it’s likely Mike Rose, owner of Buddytoad Hobbies, has it in stock.
Buddytoad Hobbies owner Mike Rose imports thousands of products from across Canada and across the southern border. His profits have taken a hit from United States-imposed tariffs. (Leila Beaudoin/CBC)
Rose’s section at the back of the room has hundreds, if not thousands of collectibles for sale. He said his overhead costs can be steep, and they’re steeper now because of United States-imposed tariffs on many of the products he provides.
“[My] profit is gone down, costs have gone up,” said Rose, adding when U.S. tariffs first came into effect, the cost of imported items rose as much as 30 per cent.
“We’re eating most of it, but there’s only so far you can go on this, unfortunately. You have to pass part of it onto the customer.… Competing with Amazon, there’s no choice.”
As expensive as the specialized collectible and toy business can be, Rose said growing social acceptance of “nerd” culture and the camaraderie that comes with it keeps him — and the industry — going.
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